FORT LAUDERDALE – After being injured in a four-country showdown, Matthew Tokachuk is unlikely to work with the Florida Panthers with Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
“My hope is that he won’t play tomorrow,” coach Paul Maurice said after practice at the Baptist Health Iceplex on Friday.
Tkachuk first showed signs of illness in his second faceoff for the 4 Nations when he missed the final 12:36 of his thrilling 3-1 victory in the US in Canada.
After going out to the final round robin match, Tkachuk took the ice at just 6:47 in a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 4 Nations face-off championship game on Thursday.
Appearing visibly unpleasant, his final shift remained 3:22 in the second term.
“We probably have a better handle (Saturday), but not the last one,” Maurice said when asked about the possible timeline for Tkachuk’s return to the Panthers. “My expectation is that we give him a rest no matter what, and then we’ll handle it.”
Tkachuk was in absolute tears as he sat second for the Panthers with 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) this season.
The 27-year-old forward, who dented his scoresheet in seven of his last eight games, collected 16 points (8 goals, eight assists) during his passionate stretch.
Currently, Tkachuk’s injuries are known as the lower body.
“I give him every day and then I’ll give him some pretty good updates over the next few days,” Maurice said.
Tkachuk won’t compete with Kraken, but Panthers is expected to have seven other players who joined the 4 Nations return to the lineup.
The group includes Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart, who helped Canada win the tournament.
In the championship game, Bennett scored a goal and Reinhart notched the assist.
A slight shift around the players to fill in the blanks left by Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues will slide to the second line on Saturday to play with Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich.
Stay tuned for more details on Tkachuk’s injuries over the next few days.
